March Novel (Completed) - Chapter 110

Oh Seonran moved the books scattered on the bed to the bedside table so Sehwa could lie down comfortably. Sehwa bowed his head deeply, endlessly fiddling with the spines of the books.

“What can I get you? Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

To Oh Seonran’s gentle question, Sehwa merely shook his head lightly. Even with the same expressionless face, the temperature was different from when he looked at him.

Gi Taejeong felt a thousand fires raging inside him. The day Commander Oh Seonran abruptly came to the department store, Lee Sehwa had been overjoyed, not knowing what to do, seeing him from afar. He kept mouthing as if calling him, and when Gi Taejeong approached and held his hand tightly, Sehwa kept glancing at him with a face dripping with affection.

But… Sehwa, who had clearly been like that, was now looking at him like a stranger. Just as he had been wary of Oh Seonran that day, he was now raising his thorns towards Gi Taejeong.

“I’ll leave.”

Oh Seonran, who had carefully tucked in the blanket, swiftly left the hospital room. Gi Taejeong stared intently at Sehwa, who was hesitantly watching his reaction, then took a step back. The worry etched on Sehwa’s face was not for him. He must have been anxious that Gi Taejeong might do something to Commander Oh Seonran.

“You…”

As soon as the hospital room door closed, Commander Oh Seonran stood with his hands on his hips, breathing heavily. He grumbled, “You, Gi Taejeong,” several times, then suddenly threw a punch.

With a sharp, tearing sound like a wet towel being slapped, Gi Taejeong’s head snapped back. Still, a commander was a commander; Oh Seonran knew how to deliver a beating quite effectively.

Gi Taejeong rolled his tongue inside his cheek and straightened his posture. He hadn’t been hit by anyone since his commissioning, so he felt foul, but if Lee Sehwa were to worry upon seeing the fresh scar, it might not be so bad after all.

After that, Oh Seonran only aimed his fists and kicks at parts of the body where marks wouldn’t show, like the stomach or shins, rather than the face. Seeing the intensity gradually increase, it seemed his defiant attitude, as if daring him to hit harder, had contributed to provoking his temper.

“Even if I told you to take your medicine and come in, you wouldn’t listen… And Sehwa would be surprised if you suddenly showed up with a swollen face, so this is where it ends.”

Breathing roughly, as if snorting, Oh Seonran ran a hand over his gaunt face.

“So, this is the result of finally catching a child who ran away because he was struggling, and making him sit by your side? Is this all it is?”

He was clenching his teeth so hard that the grinding sound could be heard from here. Yet, he kept his voice low, just in case the conversation leaked beyond the door.

“Now, whose child, how dare you, whose child…!”

Oh Seonran’s jaw trembled as he spoke.

Whose child? Gi Taejeong narrowed his eyes in confusion. It wasn’t surprising that Oh Seonran immediately raised his hand. But this… was a bit strange. For an attitude towards a friend’s son… wasn’t it too intense?

“Commander Oh Seonran.”

“……”

“The person who gave birth to Lee Sehwa… is he truly an acquaintance of yours?”

“…What?”

Oh Seonran bit his lip, speechless for a moment, then his expression turned cold. It seemed he had just realized how excessively emotional his own attitude had been.

“…None of your business.”

Aha. On the contrary, that very denial confirmed to Gi Taejeong that there was a hidden story. It seemed the person who gave birth to Sehwa and Commander Oh Seonran were not just ordinary acquaintances.

“Surely, even in this state, you’re not going to claim parental rights?”

“Of course, do I even need to claim rights that are inherently mine?”

“You, you…”

“Sehwa is struggling now, but with time, everything will be fine. If I keep…”

Gi Taejeong trailed off for a moment, then quickly pulled back his chin and straightened his posture, as if it were nothing.

“If I keep staying by his side, a time will come when he understands and accepts it.”

“Ha, ha ha… Did Sehwa say that? That even in this state, he wants you by his side? That he wishes for it?”

Commander Oh Seonran let out a hollow laugh, as if dumbfounded.

He wanted to answer yes, but… in truth, Gi Taejeong was a little unsure himself. Lee Sehwa no longer looked at him the way he used to… Could he just presume that Sehwa felt the same way?

“Do you know why I don’t ask Sehwa anything? Do you know what it means for him to be adopted into my family, what he can enjoy in the future, how much assets have already been transferred to Sehwa… Do you know why I don’t lay all that out?”

“That’s…”

“It’s because Sehwa is very sick. Not just his body, but his mind.”

Oh Seonran chuckled bitterly, as if it were absurd that he had to explain even this. Then he clenched his teeth again and said quietly, but clearly,

“Sehwa has lived his entire life as if being chased out of harsh places. He’s still just a child, twenty-one years old. What kind of heart, what kind of thoughts do you think Sehwa had to endure in that house?”

‘Sehwa must have been on the verge of collapse even before he met you,’ Oh Seonran lamented.

“You… you probably don’t know what kind of look Sehwa has when he sees you.”

“……”

“Do you think a child who loved you so much, a child who probably considered you the only joy in his harsh life, could be sane after experiencing something like this? The only reason he’s not crazy right now is because he has a child. He’s not enduring because the situation is bearable; he’s barely breathing because of the child, because he can’t collapse here!”

Despite the deliberate accusations pouring down on him, Gi Taejeong offered no reply.

…He wasn’t unaware of it. It would have been better if everything had exploded from the beginning. He would have thought, ‘I should trust and give my heart,’ which would have changed to a resignation of ‘I may not trust, but I should give my heart’… And when events that he thought were all sealed up kept bursting forth, he must have wanted to let go. That’s why he was looking away with vacant eyes, even his lips tightly sealed. But…

“I also wish for you to win this trial. I’m working hard behind the scenes in my own way. I’m pinning everything Sehwa did previously on Lieutenant Kim, because I want Sehwa to live a normal life afterwards. Forgetting the past, like other twenty-one-year-olds. Truly, normally.”

“……”

“And that past, of course, includes you.”

Oh Seonran stated coldly that the only reason he wasn’t immediately filing a parental rights termination lawsuit was for that one reason. This also meant that once the trial was settled and enough time had passed, he wouldn’t hesitate to file the lawsuit.

“If I get involved with you, I don’t know what kind of fault Lieutenant Kim’s side might find in the trial, so I’m staying quiet. So, if you care about Sehwa even a little, you should step back on your own.”

“……”

“The second trial is in two weeks, right? I’ll try my best to appease Sehwa so we can finish filming his testimony. That’s for his own good. But after that, for Sehwa to live even a little bit peacefully, you must let him go first.”

Let him go?

If Lee Sehwa was to live quietly and well in the future, all he had to do was let him go?

Gi Taejeong’s rapidly blinking eyes had now sharpened coldly.

“Why should I let go of Lee Sehwa?”

He had barely opened his eyes and was finally looking at him. There was no reaction, but he was alive and breathing. That’s enough, isn’t it? If he’s alive, it’s not too late.

“You really…!”

“I will treat Sehwa well, without any shortcomings, so that Commander will not have to worry. And the child too, of course.”

Wouldn’t it be enough to keep telling him he was sorry by his side, to give him reassurance… Twenty-year-old Lee Sehwa had clearly said that. Only a year had passed, so his values wouldn’t have changed much. So there was still room. The precariously tattered parts could be reattached.

…He wanted to believe that.

“Brigadier General Gi Taejeong, you really… think like a soldier. Even at this moment.”

First, occupy the high ground, plant the flag of victory, and then plan for the future.

Even if the process was ruined, if he won, he considered it enough.

Believing that calling the opponent to the negotiation table and presenting conditions first was a generous act.

Never considering unconditional acceptance or sacrifice for victory…

“I wasted time on someone who can’t understand advice.”

Oh Seonran shook his head, as if he no longer wished to speak. Then he slowly walked towards the hospital room.

He massaged his stiff jaw, trying to conjure a benevolent face like before. After several attempts, unable to suppress the emotions welling up, he suddenly clutched his forehead and dropped his head. The shoulders of the strong and handsome veteran, whose age was hard to guess from his appearance, trembled violently.

“…Why, …why, even that, did you have to resemble…”

It was an oppressive yet quiet sob that made even Gi Taejeong and the security personnel stationed around him flinch and step back. Commander Oh Seonran’s continuous murmuring as he sobbed sounded like someone’s name.

He couldn’t make it out exactly, but it definitely wasn’t Lee Sehwa. Then was he calling Sehwa’s deceased biological father? Gi Taejeong couldn’t guess the exact circumstances at the moment, but somehow, it felt that way.

Bending at the waist, hands on his knees, Commander Oh Seonran remained like that for a long time before slowly raising his head. He looked up at the ceiling for as long as he had cried, composing himself, then repeatedly cleared his throat as if to regain his composure.

“…Well, it seems he doesn’t even know what he’s lost… You’ll find out later too.”

“……”

“The day you’ll regret to your bones the words you said in front of me… No, even if you do, it’ll be useless then, so what’s the point in saying more?”

Oh Seonran left Gi Taejeong standing blankly and opened the door. “Sehwa,” he called out gently, his voice completely free of tears, no different from usual.

Gi Taejeong stood rooted to the spot, watching the door slowly close. The light spilling from the hospital room cast a round angle on the floor, then vanished like a mirage. Though it was midday, the corridor where Gi Taejeong stood alone was quiet and dim.